Chapter 75: Hayang is an Angel!

We were buzzing with excitement the whole way out of the gate and even afterward, thanks to Chae Seunghyeon's skill. A skill that boosted our treasure room rewards by nearly 30%—from my perspective, he was the perfect partner.

"From now on, we should try to go with Seunghyeon as much as possible."

"But won't that be too hard on Seunghyeon? He has to go into gates with us and then come back to work..."

"Ah, no, no. I'm fine. This is my job, after all."

When I asked out of concern for what Han Yuseol had said, Chae Seunghyeon just burst into a hearty laugh and waved it off.

Still, I couldn't help worrying deep down. Gate exploration isn't easy by any means. He'd be physically and mentally exhausted afterward—sitting back down at his desk for work must be tough.

"You're right. It looks ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like we'll need to adjust the working hours a bit. And tweak the conditions slightly too."

"Conditions?"

What conditions? As I tilted my head, Han Yuseol kindly elaborated.

"Yes. For starters, we'll need to raise the salary. We initially set it low because we hadn't planned on having you join us for gate runs, but things are different now."

"Aha!"

"You're raising it even more...?!"

I chimed in approvingly, but Chae Seunghyeon widened his eyes in shock.

Isn't it obvious that more work means a higher salary? Why's he so surprised?

"We'll talk details later. Also, Master, I'd like to space out our gate explorations a little."

"Space them out?"

"Yes. As you know, Master, the frequency of discovering new gates is dropping off. At this point, we don't need to update the strategy guide quite so urgently."

"Yeah... you're right?"

Han Yuseol had a point. Excluding that first erosion gate, we'd barely found any new ones during our runs. Today's gates, aside from the initial one, were all already in the guide.

I couldn't say for sure yet, but maybe we'd already explored most of them.

Of course, info on erosion-grade and higher was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠still sorely lacking. But those hardly ever popped up anyway. Nothing too pressing.

"Um... Leader."

"Yes?"

I was munching on cookies I'd stashed in my item storage when Chae Seunghyeon called me hesitantly. I tilted my head, and he opened his mouth with a confused look.

"Strategy guide? What do you mean?"

"Oh? Right, you wouldn't know, Seunghyeon."

"Come to think of it, we never told you."

"What...?"

Only then did I realize we'd never explained our work to Chae Seunghyeon. I quickly pulled out my phone, logged into the Hunter Gallery, and showed him my strategy posts.

"Hehe, Yuseol and I are the ones who wrote these strategy guides. That's why we were running gates just the two of us."

"To be precise, Master wrote them. I didn't really do much..."

"Hey, Yuseol! I told you not to say that! We worked hard together!"

"I'm sorry."

Seeing Han Yuseol bow her head urgently made me a little uneasy, but I had to say it. It was a team effort—having it treated as just mine felt off!

"No, this is..."

Meanwhile, Chae Seunghyeon checked the guide, his eyes trembling as he looked back and forth between me and Han Yuseol. Wondering what was up, I tilted my head, and he scratched his cheek awkwardly.

"So you were the one who wrote this, Leader. I had no idea."

"Huh? You knew about the guide too, Seunghyeon?"

"Who among recent hunters hasn't? Especially me—I used it religiously from the first post."

"Really?!"

Reading it from the very first one? Back then, reactions were awful.

Wait... come to think of it, someone left a comment on my guestbook back then. No way...?

"Gasp! No way, Seunghyeon, is your Hunter Gallery ID TreasureHunter?!"

"You knew after all. Yes, that was me on the guestbook."

"Wow!"

It really was him! Who knew that connection would lead to this? Feeling fateful, I looked up at Han Yuseol with excitement. Our eyes met, and she smiled warmly.

"I see. I remember that comment too. Master was feeling down back then, but she lit up after reading yours. Thank you, even if it's late."

"Aw, no need for thanks. I'm the grateful one. Thanks to that guide, my first gate run got me noticed and a generous cut. I was over the moon."

Heh, good to hear. Sure, some folks still leave comments saying they use it well, but meeting one in person for the first time felt extra proud.

"And now I'm working at a great place like this, so I'm always thankful."

"No, no. It's because you do such great work, Seunghyeon. Looking forward to more."

"Right! Yuseol says you're super meticulous too."

"R-Really? I hardly ever got praised at my old job... haha."

Eh? Hardly ever praised? He's so diligent and detail-oriented! Those people must've been the problem. Good work deserves praise!

"Oh, right. Yuseol, what about the split? This is our first run with Seunghyeon."

"Oh, no. No split for me. What did I even do...?"

"No, Master's right. Even if your combat contribution was smaller, we can't overlook your achievement."

Mm-hmm! Exactly! We only got that much from the treasure room because of him!

"The treasure room haul was your 30% share anyway, so we'll give you 30% of the total split here—a bit extra. Sound good?"

"H-Huh?! That much?!"

Chae Seunghyeon gaped in shock.

"Yes. It might dip a little next time, or rise based on your performance. But this was our first run together, and a small bonus for your usual hard work."

"Thank you! Thank you!"

He bowed at 90 degrees over and over. His reaction was so intense I was stunned. Is 30% that great? Isn't it standard? Well, if he's happy...

"Just one thing—you'll handle item sales and splits yourself."

"Of course! I'll stay late tonight if I have to!"

"No overtime!"

"Uh... then I'll finish by tomorrow."

Mm. That's more like it! No overtime in our guild. I'd miss my 5 PM anime otherwise.

As I left the hall at Black Rose Guild HQ after an invite, I greeted a guild member I ran into.

"Hi!"

"Oh, hello. Angel... I mean, Hayang."

"...Huh? Yes."

She seemed about to say something, then hastily corrected herself. What was that? I didn't catch it. Nothing bad, right? I do snack a lot here lately... did that rumor spread?

"What brings you today?"

"Yeah! Sea-ah called me for something. I have stuff to give her too."

"Ah, want to head up together? I was just going to see the guild master."

"Sure, I'm good with that."

She'd always been kind to me, and we knew each other now, so I agreed. Why is she so nice to me, though? She's been sweet since day one. Even knows I love sweet treats.

Anyway, we headed to the office, door ajar. I peeked in, and Ryu Sea-ah spotted us, jumping up from her chair in surprise.

"Hayang! You're here."

"Huh? Oh, hi...?"

What? The guild member was with me too. Felt bad leaving her out, so I glanced awkwardly. She just smiled warmly at me.

"I got some really good cookies in recently. Wanted to give them to you—that's why I called. Hope it wasn't rude?"

"No, it's fine. I have plenty of time."

I nodded, and smiling Ryu Sea-ah ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠took something from the guild member. Guess that's all she was here for.

"Hm...?"

I thought she'd head out after, but she kept glancing at me, hesitating.

"Ah...! W-Well, I'll head back then."

Then she locked eyes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with Ryu Sea-ah beside me and bolted in surprise. Weird. I looked up at Ryu Sea-ah, but she was beaming as usual.

"Have a seat wherever. So, gate run today too?"

"Yeah. But starting tomorrow, we'll cut back a bit."

"Must be tiring."

"Not really. We've pretty much filled the strategy guide. Planning to stick to erosion-grade and up for a while."

"Just you two on erosion-grade and higher? That sounds tough. Let me know if you need help."

Isn't asking another guild master rude, though? She's busy too.

"It's okay. You're busy, Sea-ah."

"Doesn't matter. For you—Ang... I mean, Hayang—I'll make time anytime."

"Hehe."

A bit burdensome, but sweet. I slurped the chocolate latte that appeared, and she propped her chin, staring intently.

Lately, every visit, she stares right through me. Whipped cream on my face? I tilted my head, then remembered the item belatedly. Right!

"Oh, and this."

"Hm? What's this?"

I wiggled out the item from the gate, and she looked puzzled.

Ahem, so this is...

"It's like that necklace you used to wear. Hehe, found it by chance in the treasure room today."

"Pardon?"

"Seemed super valuable, and I regretted it. Not exactly the same, but I wanted to give it to you."

Effects were 10% weaker than her old one, but it had an extra passive. Per Han Yuseol, excluding the active, this was better for everyday wear. She'd love it...

Eh?

"Hayang! How can I ever repay this kindness...!"

"W-Why are you suddenly—?! Why kneel...!"

"I'll devote my life to you forever!"

"What are you talking about?! You're Black Rose's guild master!"

...I figured she'd be happy. But kneeling and bawling? Somehow, I saw Chae Seunghyeon in her.